Spatter shield

ABSTRACT

A spatter screen for a cookware item has a screen element with at least one planar surface formed of heat-resistant, silicone rubber, a rim about said screen element; and a handle extending from the rim.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Design patentapplication Ser. No. 29/279,516 filed 2 May 2007.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to cookware items and, moreparticularly, to a spatter screen for use with cookware items.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

During the cooking of food within a cookware item such as a pot or pan,spattering of high temperature grease, oil or food may occur. Thisoccurrence presents a risk of burn to any person standing in thevicinity of the cookware item. This occurrence also causes surroundingsto be soiled.

To prevent such spattering, it is known to employ the use of a spatterscreen over the cookware item. U.S. Pat. No. 3,807,596 describes anexemplary prior art spatter screen. The spatter screen includes acircular metallic rim, a handle attached to the rim, and an aluminumscreen retained within the rim. During use, the spatter screen is placedloosely on top of a frying pan to prevent spatter from the pan.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A spatter screen for a cookware item has a screen element with at leastone planar surface formed of heat-resistant, silicone rubber, a rimabout said screen element; and a handle extending from the rim.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

A more complete understanding of the invention and its advantages willbe apparent from the Detailed Description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying Drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view;

FIG. 2 is a front view;

FIG. 3 is a back view;

FIG. 4 is a side view;

FIG. 5 is a side view similar to FIG. 4 rotated 180 degrees;

FIG. 6 is a top view; and

FIG. 7 is a bottom view.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIGS. 1-7, spatter screen 10 is for a cookware item (notshown) such as a pot, pan or skillet, to be used in the well-known andconventional manner to block spattering, yet let steam and heatdissipate. Spatter screen 10 includes a screen element 12 with at leastone planar surface 14 (FIG. 7) formed of heat-resistant, siliconerubber. A rim 16 forms a perimeter about the screen element 12. A handle18 extends from the rim 16.

The screen element 12 in one embodiment is integrally formed ofheat-resistant, silicone rubber. The term “integrally formed of siliconerubber” means, in the context of the present invention, that the screenelement 12 is made out of silicone material alone without any othercomponent material. A plurality of cylindrical walls 20 (FIG. 6) areformed in the screen element to create perforations.

In one embodiment of the invention, the screen element 12 includes aplurality of ribs 22. The ribs 22 have a depth perpendicular to thescreen element surface 14 to space the screen element surface 14 awayfrom a plane formed by edges 24 of the ribs 22. That the edges 24 alllie in one plane is best illustrated in FIGS. 2-5. While manyconfigurations of ribs would be possible, in the preferred configurationillustrated the ribs 22 are longitudinal and extend in directions from acenter 26 (FIG. 7) of the screen element surface 14 towards the rim 16.In addition, the screen element surface 14 is circular about center 26,and the ribs 22 are radial in orientation. The ribs 22 extend from amedial portion 28 (FIG. 7) of the screen element surface 14 to the rim16.

A plurality of feet 30 have a depth perpendicular to the screen elementsurface 14 to space the plane formed by edges 24 of the ribs 22 awayfrom a plane formed by edges 32 of the feet. The feet 30 extend from therim 16, the rim 16 is circular, and the feet 30 are slightly arcuate asshown in FIG. 7.

In operation, the longitudinal and radial character of ribs 22 allowsthe spatter screen to be engaged with a wide range of open-toppedcooking vessels. The spacing between the plane of the rib edges and thesplatter screen surface allows steam and heat to escape from the gapsformed above the perimeter of the pot or pan. After use, grease andmoisture can accumulate on the spatter screen surface and ribs, so therelatively-cleaner feet are provided to space the ribs from a worksurface separate from the cookware, making clean up easy.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or twoor more together, may also find a useful application in other types ofconstructions differing from the type described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in aparticular spatter screen mounting system, it is not intended to belimited to the details shown, since it will be understood that variousomissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the forms anddetails of the device illustrated and in its operation can be made bythose skilled in the art without departing in any way from the spirit ofthe present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist ofthe present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge,readily adapt it for various applications without omitting featuresthat, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essentialcharacteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention.

1. A spatter screen for a cookware item, comprising: a screen elementwith at least one planar surface formed of heat-resistant, siliconerubber; a rim about said screen element; and a handle extending from therim.
 2. The spatter screen of claim 1 with the screen element beingintegrally formed of heat-resistant, silicone rubber.
 3. The spatterscreen of claim 2 with a plurality of cylindrical walls formed in thescreen element to create perforations.
 4. The spatter screen of claim 2with the screen element including a plurality of ribs, the ribs having adepth perpendicular to the screen element surface to space the screenelement surface away from a plane formed by edges of the ribs.
 5. Thespatter screen of claim 4 with the ribs being longitudinal and extendingin directions from a center of the screen element surface towards therim.
 6. The spatter screen of claim 5 with the screen element surfacebeing circular and the ribs being radial in orientation.
 7. The spatterscreen of claim 5 with the ribs extending from a medial portion of thescreen element surface to the rim.
 8. The spatter screen of claim 6 withthe ribs extending from a medial portion of the screen element surfaceto the rim.
 9. The spatter screen of claim 5 with a plurality ofcylindrical walls formed in the screen element to create perforations.10. The spatter screen of claim 8 with a plurality of cylindrical wallsformed in the screen element to create perforations.
 11. The spatterscreen of claim 4 with a plurality of feet having a depth perpendicularto the screen element surface greater than the depth of the ribs, tospace the plane formed by edges of the ribs away from a plane formed byedges of the feet.
 12. The spatter screen of claim 11 with the ribsbeing longitudinal and extending in directions from a center of thescreen element surface towards the rim.
 13. The spatter screen of claim12 with the screen element surface being circular and the ribs beingradial in orientation.
 14. The spatter screen of claim 12 with the ribsextending from a medial portion of the screen element surface to therim.
 15. The spatter screen of claim 13 with the ribs extending from amedial portion of the screen surface to the rim.
 16. The spatter screenof claim 11 with a plurality of cylindrical walls formed in the screenelement to create perforations.
 17. The spatter screen of claim 15 witha plurality of cylindrical walls formed in the screen element to createperforations.
 18. The spatter screen of claim 11 with the feet extendingfrom the rim.
 19. The spatter screen of claim 13 with the feet extendingfrom the rim, the rim being circular, and with the feet being arcuate.20. A spatter screen for a cookware item, comprising: a screen elementwith at least one planar surface formed of heat-resistant, siliconerubber; a rim about said screen element; a handle extending from therim; with the screen element being integrally formed of heat-resistant,silicone rubber; with a plurality of cylindrical walls formed in thescreen element to create perforations; with the screen element includinga plurality of ribs, the ribs having a depth perpendicular to the screenelement surface to space the screen element surface away from a planeformed by edges of the ribs; with the ribs being longitudinal andextending in directions from a center of the screen element surfacetowards the rim; with the screen element surface being circular and theribs being radial in orientation; with the ribs extending from a medialportion of the screen element surface to the rim; with a plurality offeet having a depth perpendicular to the screen element surface to spacethe plane formed by edges of the ribs away from a plane formed by edgesof the feet; and with the feet extending from the rim, the rim beingcircular, and with the feet being arcuate.